a princess and her sheriff

why not sure I'll marry you part 9

The following morning, Hitch dropped by the Z-Heights store on the way to the sheriff's station. There, Peach Melba taught him that there were apps that drain a phone's battery more than others, such as Amplify and making video calls. Thus, Hitch brought his charger to work so that he wouldn't drain his phone's battery from listening to Pipp's music while working in case Pipp wanted to video call after work.

As the week passed, Hitch continued encountering ponies who had questions regarding him and Pipp. It became a routine to answer questions regarding the wedding, Presto, whether Hitch would live with Pipp in Zephyr Heights or her moving to Maretime Bay every time Hitch was on patrol. To Hitch's relief, the questions died down on Thursday as the community acknowledged Hitch's explanations of what happened at Zephyr Heights Castle and where things were going between him and Pipp. Periwinkle appreciated Hitch not revealing her as the pony behind the "Marry Me" sign. But while she was happy that Hitch was giving his marriage a chance, many other mares, such as Mayflower, Dahlia, Mountain Frost, and Peach Melba, didn't look or speak to Hitch with the sparkle in their eyes that they once had.

Come Friday, two weeks after the wedding, Hitch went to work with Pipp in mind. The last time Pipp called him, she announced she was visiting and expected to arrive sometime that day, but she didn't know when exactly. Hitch kept Pipp's visit a secret from everypony but Sunny, wanting to avoid any more excitement all over town. At noon, Hitch went to grab lunch while Sprout stayed in the sheriff's station ordering pizza. Hitch walked to Sunny's smoothie stand and got in line for a drink before grabbing his lunch at a nearby sandwich stand. Hitch hummed to Pipp's songs as he waited in line. When Hitch reached the front of the line, Sunny looked at him with a professional smile, but Hitch saw in her eyes that she was excited.

"Morning, Sheriff Hitch," Sunny greeted. "The usual blueberry plum swirl?"

"You bet," Hitch replied.

"Coming right up," Sunny said.

Sunny went to the back of the stand and began working on Hitch's order. Hitch went back to humming and tapped his front left hoof while he waited. When Sunny finished, Hitch reached into his satchel to take out money to pay for the smoothie. However, as Hitch dug into his satchel, Sunny looked around to make sure nopony else was around and smirked before leaning toward Hitch and holding her hoof up to hide her mouth.

"Psst. Hey, Hitch, any idea how soon Pipp will be here?" she whispered.

Hitch rolled his eyes, thinking he should have suspected Sunny would ask.

"No idea. She hasn't texted me since she left Zephyr Heights because there's no reception between Zephyr Heights and Maretime Bay," Hitch said.

"That's a shame. Are you hoping she comes soon?" Sunny asked.

Hitch looked away from Sunny, hesitant to answer.

"Yyyyyyeeesss, and no," he said.

"No? What do you mean, 'no?' Aren't you looking forward to her coming to see you?" Sunny asked.

"Sure, I am, but I'd like the princess to arrive when I'm off duty, so I have time to show her around town," Hitch said before adding while scratching his front leg, "Also, the later she comes, the higher the chance of ponies not going, well, ballistic."

Sunny gave Hitch an unamused frown and asked, "Seriously, Hitch? That's your biggest concern?"

"Well, what do you expect? If I told anypony she's coming apart from you, the whole town would want to set a parade or something in her honor when she's only here to see me," Hitch said.

"Hitch, you're married to the most beloved pony in all of Equestria. Everypony is going to lose it whether you tell them ahead of time or not," Sunny said. "Besides, what do you plan to do if Pipp does come when you're done with work? Show her around town in the middle of the night while everypony is asleep and then call it a day? I doubt she's coming all the way here just for that."